Well, it's official. Tamashii Nations has confirmed release details for Shinkocchou Seihou Hyper Kabuto! So we've decided to head back down memory lane again and do a gallery of the original S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Hyper Kabuto! Remember, this figure came out nearly 7 years ago. So of course it won't match up to the standards of today's releases. But let's examine where the new Seihou release is likely to improve.

Packaging
Like many older 1.0 releases, the original Hyper Kabuto came in a pretty plain box. Just basic two tone red with black text & one gray scale photo of the actual suit rather than the toy. Indeed this was the boring era of figuarts packaging.

Main Figure
Now, of allllll the figuarts based on the original Kabuto mold, Hyper is probably the best one. It suffers the least from all of that body types' original flaws. No noticeably bowed legs, no loose hip joints, and a head that's at least proportionate to the body. However it does have it's own unique flaw. Fading paint. Specifically the red paint apps. Over time they seem to fade excessively, in much the same way that Knight Survive and the original Kuuga Rising Mighty have. It's mostly present on the arms and especially on the hands, and there's no real way to stop it either. That being said here's how the figure actually functions.

As I said before this mold doesn't really suffer from the same kind of persistent QC problems as the rest of the original line. It does however have some loose ankles and very tight hips. And the paint fade is of course an issue. But as you can see below, this is actually still a pretty serviceable figure. It's no Seihou, but it's been a good figure to fill out your Kabuto display for the last 7 years. While the combination of loose ankles and tight hips can make some posing difficult, ultimately this mold still has plenty of personality. That mostly thanks to the really great range of motion in the arms and head, and the bulk & detailing of the armor on the upper body.

This figures' body armor is the real selling factor though. While many figures of the time and even now, don't feature built-in form switching gimmicks, Hyper Kabuto did. Thanks to some swappable ankle & wrist components and some removeable chest panels you can trasnform Kabuto from his standard Hyper Form to Clock Up mode. The wrist & ankle wings peg on when you remove the red panels that are already present. They can come off easily so just be cautious and try not to snap the tiny pegs that hold them in place. The chest panels are on similarly tiny pegs, you just remove them and peg them back on a little further out from the center. To achieve the full Clock Up look you also need to fold up the extra red shoulder pads. All in all it's a pretty satisfying transition from one mode to the next, and again it's just something you don't see in many figures. There's also a pair of light wings included to finish off the look of Clock Up, mostly for Kabuto's Hyper Kick attack.

While not as new or nice as many modern releases, this is a figure that can still work for many collectors on a budget.

Accessories

Surprisingly Hype Kabuto is pretty loaded down for a 7 year old retail release:

2.5 - sets of hands. One set of open hands, one set for holding the Perfect Zecter in sword form, and single right hand for pointing up to the Path of Heaven.

1 - Perfect Zecter. It's actually a pretty impressively detailed weapon for the era. It can do the rudementary trasformation from sword to gun form quite well. And the individual Zecters present on it are all removable as they should be. It's pretty well detailed for what it is honestly. It's a little too heavy for the weak wrists and shallow hands to hold up but you can get him in the poses you need to get the job done.

2 - replacement wrist wings. These parts should be used in conjunction with the ankle wing parts and the wings of light for the figures' backpack. These help replicate Hyper Kabuto's Clock Up mode.

2 - replacement ankle wings. These parts should be used in conjunction with the wrist wing parts and the wings of light for the figures' backpack. These replicate Hyper Kabuto's Clock Up mode.

2 - "wings of light". You have to remove some small pads on the backpack that are a bit like a carapace, but the wings themselves have new enlarged pads attached to them too. The wings are actually pretty nice, given they're just clear pieces of plastic with some rainbow application applied. They really do look nice, but seeing pictures of the new Seihou wings, it kinds of puts these to shame.

For the era this figure was released, that's a phenomenal selection. It really is. But the accessories that come with the S.S. release are all vastly improved versions of these so it should be clear who the winner will be in the match up.

Final Thoughts
Frankly this is still a solid figure after all these years. It's just a bit too small and lanky. Those are the biggest issues that plague this figure and the biggest reasons to upgrade to the upcoming Shinkocchou Seihou release. The accessories that come with the new one, particularly the new wings, far outshine what came with this original figure as well. But if you're on a budget and still a love of all things Kabuto, then the original Kabuto Hyper Form figuart should be right up your alley.

Definitely one of the more striking (and logical) final form designs. Need to get back around to Kabuto, some great suits in that show.

It's easily one of my favorites Rider shows. There are some truly unlikeable characters & episodes, and that final arc kind of falls apart, but I've always liked it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaskedRiderAsakura

Even with the Renewal, this figure will always hold a special place in my heart. This, Zolda and Ouja were the first Figuarts I ever owned, right before I graduated High School.

Actually this figure is that way for me too. It's the first Figuart any family members ever got me. My sister got it for me for Christmas years back. I'm selling it off to upgrade to the Seihou, but I'm a bit sentimental for it.